Emilie, wife of 19th century  German pastor Christoph Blumhardt, envied his ability to pray for his parishioners and then effortlessly fall asleep. So one night she pleaded, “Tell me your secret!”

He answered, “Is God so powerless that my worrying would help the wellbeing of our parish?” Then he added, “There comes a moment each day when we must simply drop what weighs on us and hand it over to God.”

One evening Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. Weary after a long day of ministry, He fell asleep in the stern of the boat. A fierce storm suddenly arose—so fierce that even the Lord’s fishermen turned disciples were terrified. But Jesus continued to sleep serenely until His frightened followers woke Him, crying out, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). You see, Jesus was in the habit of entrusting Himself to His heavenly Father. Having made that commitment, He could sleep through the turbulent storm.

When worries begin to gnaw at our mind, let’s surrender them to the Lord and not take them back again (1 Peter 5:7).

Drop what weighs you down by giving it to God.

Author

vernon c. grounds

Topics

Our Daily Bread